Fan Video of the Week: Supernatural Reflections “Winchester Legacy”
“The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.” – Billy Graham
This week we focus on the Legacy of the Winchesters as hunters and Men of Letters. I think those two combined have a much bigger survival rate than when they are seperated. It fits as Sam and Dean are two sides of the same coin. I wish they would use this rich mythology more on the show. “The Werther Box” was an original and new “monster” to recon that I think ended up being one of the best monsters of the show. Very inventive. I still keep hoping they make more use of the lore. Supernatural Wiki had a good short MOL history, including all of the episodes where the MOL were mentioned:
The Men of Letters is a global secret organization of scholars who research the supernatural. They undergo a period of teaching in areas of arcane knowledge and rituals and, if they pass, are initiated into the most secret knowledge. They saw hunters as a necessary evil in doing their work, but viewed their use of violence with contempt.
– The symbol of the group is the Aquarian Star.
– Membership of the group is predominately male but women can become members.
– Membership is hereditary.
– Albert Magnus is the name members use when going incognito. Albertus Magnus was a German Dominican friar from the 13th century who advocated the peaceful coexistence of religion and science.
– They have stored in the Bunker their collected knowledge “every object, scroll, spell ever collected for thousands of years under one roof… the safest place on earth, warded against any evil ever created.” The key to this place was placed in a box, and given to Henry Winchester to protect from the demon Abaddon.
– There were a number of chapters of Men of Letters located across the US. When Sam searches in a journal for the address of the St Louis chapter, other chapters are noted including Roswell (Area 3682 bunker, Rosewll, NM), Missoula, (1 North Central Street, Missoula MT), Canton (43211 Chino Street, Canton, MI). The St Louise Chapter house where the Werther Box was hidden was at 2111 De Fay Street, St Louise, MO.
The order was seemingly destroyed by a Knight of Hell — Abaddon — on August 12, 1958. The surviving members Henry Winchester, and an elderly Larry Ganem, both died at the hands of Abaddon in 2013.
The only other known survivors of the Men after the deaths of Henry and Larry were Cuthbert Sinclair, a member of the group who was expelled in 1956 due to his experimenting with spells, and Clive Dillon who after he returned from Oz was able to retire from the order, under a secret identity. Both men were killed in 2014, Cuthbert by Dean Winchester and Clive by Charlie Bradbury.
In 2013, Sam and Dean learn of the Men of Letters existence from Henry Winchester, their grandfather who was an initiate and one of the only survivors of the order. After defeating Abaddon, they found the Men of Letters Bunker and moved in, taking on their roles as Legacies and continuing the work of the order, using the Bunker’s resources to aid in their own fight against evil.
In 2015, the former head of the Grand Coven of Witches, Olivette, told Rowena how the Men of Letters had led a pogrom against witches, and had taken all their books of lore and spells. She says that the Men of Letters had bunkers “all over the world” and that they were too well protected by spells for the witches to enter. The Coven is aware that the American chapter had been decimated but that the Bunker had recently become inhabited by the The Winchesters.
Quotes:
We’re preceptors, beholders, chroniclers of all that man does not understand. We share our findings with a few trusted hunters – the very elite. They do the rest.
– Henry Winchester, 8.12 As Time Goes By
Dean: Son of a bitch.
Sam: Look at this. Ham radio, telegraph, switchboard. This was their nerve center.
Dean: Henry did say that they ran dispatch on their own team of hunters.
Wow. Halfway through their coffee and a game of chess – looks like whoever was manning the hub left quick.
Sam: On the alarm call that ended the Men of Letters.
Sam: Son of a bitch.
Dean: Sammy, I think we found the Bat Cave.
– 8.13 Everybody Hates Hitler
References:
supernaturalwiki.com
brainyquote.com
What do you think about the legacy of the Winchesters? Did you like the addition of the Men of Letters to the lore? Share your thoughts below.
I, too, would like to see a greater delving into the Men of Letters archives. What is a Man of Letters? What’s a Legacy? I think it would be great if it was one of the things the brothers shared with each other while they are in the car, traveling from hunt to hunt. I also think it should be required that we see the non-driving brother reading in the passenger seat, doing research, trying to find a way out of the latest evil they unleashed upon the world. If not reading or researching then sleeping with a book or files on their lap, in the passenger seat, on a motel bed, in a chair in the bunker. You know, like college students at the end of the semester or like Kevin trying to translate the tablets. It’s what they owe the world for choosing each other instead of the greater good (and the end of the series, at the same time).
Also, since the Men of Letters had to be collectors of all kinds of information, it is believable that they would have collections of mythologies that predate the Bible (Druidic, Asian, African, South American). Maybe they could be in contact with other Men of Letters colleagues or ones similar to them in other parts of the world. It would be a great way to bring in new characters and bring back old ones, like Adam and his Golem. I’m thinking the key might lie in Creation stories. All cultures had them. (In the beginning, there was….) Maybe some of the MoWs could be connected to those precious stories or artifacts, in the form of ancient guardians or knowledge keepers who require sacrifices or a completed list of trials. My feeling is that The Darkness is not something they are going to be able to shoot, knife, or physically beat down. They are going to have to use their wits, like Scandinavian heroes who defeated trolls. I’m sure The Darkness is old and arrogant and will underestimate the Winchesters like everyone else they’ve battled.
Anyway, I’d love it if the writers would take this direction and do some research and broaden Sam and Dean’s world. If the Winchesters’ choices are going to affect the whole world then possible international remedies should be included in the story lines.
Just my two cents.
Thank you for reading the article and writing your thoughts! It is nice to hear there are others that value also the MOL and think there are more possibilities to use it than it has been used. That archive and also the bunker. It still could have rooms that hasn’t been shown. Like the training room? These all combined to a one 1950 room set. There is a lot of possibilities. And old flashbacks. Maybe in these rooms gym and swimming pool might have their own cases and flashbacks to tell. I mean they already have a gun range.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/4xxal1t.jpg[/img] ([url]”http://i.imgur.com/4xxal1t.jpg”[/url])
– Lilah